John I (1284 – 10 November 1299) was
Count of Holland and
Zeeland
Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...
as son of
Count Floris V. John inherited the county in 1296 after the murder of his father.
Shortly after his birth, after negotiations between Floris and
King Edward I of England in April 1285, he was betrothed to
Elizabeth, a daughter of Edward and
Eleanor of Castile. Soon after this the infant John was sent to England to be raised and educated there at Edward's court. In 1296, after the murder of John's father Count Floris V, King Edward invited a number of nobles from Holland with English sympathies, amongst whom were
John III, Lord of Renesse, and
Wolfert I van Borselen.
On 7 January 1297, John married Edward's daughter Elizabeth at
St Peter's Church, Ipswich. Soon after this, he was allowed to return to Holland, although being made to promise to heed the council of Renesse and Borselen. Elizabeth was expected to go to Holland with her husband, but did not wish to go, leaving her husband to go alone. After some delay and spending Christmas 1297 with part of her family in
Ghent
Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...
, Elizabeth did join her husband in Holland in 1298.
At first Renesse acted as regent, but on 30 April 1297, John had appointed Wolfert van Borselen regent in his stead, until his fifteenth birthday. As regent, Wolfert van Borselen, pursued a policy of neutrality towards
Flanders
Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
and England. He came into conflict with the city of
Dordrecht
Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Western Netherlands, lo ...
and was killed there by a mob on 30 August 1299. After this Count
John II of the
House of Avesnes took over the regency. Count John I of Holland died at Haarlem in the same year, on 10 November, childless and only fifteen years old, reportedly of
dysentery
Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...
, but there were suspicions he was murdered.
With his death without descendants, and all his siblings having died young, the heirs to the county of Holland were his father's cousins of
Hainaut, sons of John's grandaunt
Adelaide of Holland. From this time to the extinction of Hainaut as an independent county, Holland was in
personal union
A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...
with Hainaut.
Three years after John's death, his young widow remarried to
Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford.
See also
*
Counts of Hainaut family tree
*
Counts of Holland family tree
External links and sources
*
{{Authority control
Counts of Holland
Monarchs who died as children
Medieval child monarchs
1284 births
1299 deaths
13th-century nobility from the Holy Roman Empire
Murdered royalty
13th-century counts in Europe